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Happy Valentine's Day!
Feb. 14th, 2011 10:34 pmToday I had sushi and creme brulee and a very fun triple date. And then on the way home there was some... less fun stuff.
As we pulled onto the highway, and got ready to merge, a semi thundered by in the next lane, going about eighty. Megan had seen it coming and waited for it to pass, no problem, and checked her mirrors and the blind spot again before merging. When we were three quarters of the way into the new lane, a Ford F-150 swerved in from the left lane at over seventy miles an hour, trying to squeeze into the gap ahead of us. As Megan swerved away, he realized he couldn't make it, and swerved back, so there was only the slightest tap as our wheel well met his bumper. Immediately after, he pulled alongside us and made rude gestures (our friends Peter and Kayse, who were riding with us, also saw no sign that his hand signals meant 'pull over'.)
It was obvious from how light and brief the impact was that there was no damage, and we were all riding high on adrenaline, so it didn't occur to us at that moment to pull over and exchange insurance information (with a big dude who had swerved crazily into our lane and then given us the bird as if we were at fault? Nah), so we kept driving. Traffic was heavy and we were worked up and nervous. Then, the pickup driver pulled into the lane behind us and tailgated for a couple miles. We considered calling 911, and I wrote down his license plate in case we had to, but belatedly it occurred to us that rather than being mad with road rage, he might perhaps want to exchange info. It probably took us too long to think of this, but after the shock and the rush of an almost-collision, none of us were thinking as clearly as we might.
At our exit, we pulled off the highway and into a parking lot (nice and public and brightly lit) to chat with this guy. When we got out of the car, he was calm and reasonable, and on the phone with the cops, who were prompt in showing up. Everyone agreed that the tiny paint transfer between wheel well and bumper was trivial and needed no repair, therefore it was perfectly legal not to inform our insurance companies (and yes, we checked with the cops to make sure). We did, however, have to talk to a state trooper, for two reasons.
First, and TOTALLY reasonably... our date had been in Fargo, and we stayed on the highway until the Moorhead exit before talking to this guy -- crossing state boundaries. The officer wanted to check Megan's license to be sure we weren't drunk, operating on a suspended license, or anything that might cause us to be dodging the cops. We felt like idiots for not thinking of this earlier, but he was polite and very understanding about it, and while he gave us a talking-to, he didn't issue a citation or anything like that.
Second, there was evidently the possibility of us being cited for merging improperly -- according to the guy in the F150, he had already been in the lane we were merging into, swerved out of it to avoid colliding with us, and had to swerve back to avert another collision. Now, during the course of this story, he also said he had been trying to pass the semi -- trying to pass a vehicle he was allegedly in the same lane with? Unlikely. None of us saw the other alleged vehicle he swerved 'back' to avoid colliding with, either. It is faintly, vaguely, hypothetically possible that he was really in our blind spot -- but I say this only as a man who believes in miracles and the benefit of the doubt. Megan checked the blind spot, and everyone in the car saw her do it. The officer noted the discrepancy in our stories, and since none of us had any desire to pursue legal action or see our insurance costs rise, and because the officer himself had not seen how it occurred, we all got to go home without any sort of negative legal consequence.
An exciting evening, at any rate.
As we pulled onto the highway, and got ready to merge, a semi thundered by in the next lane, going about eighty. Megan had seen it coming and waited for it to pass, no problem, and checked her mirrors and the blind spot again before merging. When we were three quarters of the way into the new lane, a Ford F-150 swerved in from the left lane at over seventy miles an hour, trying to squeeze into the gap ahead of us. As Megan swerved away, he realized he couldn't make it, and swerved back, so there was only the slightest tap as our wheel well met his bumper. Immediately after, he pulled alongside us and made rude gestures (our friends Peter and Kayse, who were riding with us, also saw no sign that his hand signals meant 'pull over'.)
It was obvious from how light and brief the impact was that there was no damage, and we were all riding high on adrenaline, so it didn't occur to us at that moment to pull over and exchange insurance information (with a big dude who had swerved crazily into our lane and then given us the bird as if we were at fault? Nah), so we kept driving. Traffic was heavy and we were worked up and nervous. Then, the pickup driver pulled into the lane behind us and tailgated for a couple miles. We considered calling 911, and I wrote down his license plate in case we had to, but belatedly it occurred to us that rather than being mad with road rage, he might perhaps want to exchange info. It probably took us too long to think of this, but after the shock and the rush of an almost-collision, none of us were thinking as clearly as we might.
At our exit, we pulled off the highway and into a parking lot (nice and public and brightly lit) to chat with this guy. When we got out of the car, he was calm and reasonable, and on the phone with the cops, who were prompt in showing up. Everyone agreed that the tiny paint transfer between wheel well and bumper was trivial and needed no repair, therefore it was perfectly legal not to inform our insurance companies (and yes, we checked with the cops to make sure). We did, however, have to talk to a state trooper, for two reasons.
First, and TOTALLY reasonably... our date had been in Fargo, and we stayed on the highway until the Moorhead exit before talking to this guy -- crossing state boundaries. The officer wanted to check Megan's license to be sure we weren't drunk, operating on a suspended license, or anything that might cause us to be dodging the cops. We felt like idiots for not thinking of this earlier, but he was polite and very understanding about it, and while he gave us a talking-to, he didn't issue a citation or anything like that.
Second, there was evidently the possibility of us being cited for merging improperly -- according to the guy in the F150, he had already been in the lane we were merging into, swerved out of it to avoid colliding with us, and had to swerve back to avert another collision. Now, during the course of this story, he also said he had been trying to pass the semi -- trying to pass a vehicle he was allegedly in the same lane with? Unlikely. None of us saw the other alleged vehicle he swerved 'back' to avoid colliding with, either. It is faintly, vaguely, hypothetically possible that he was really in our blind spot -- but I say this only as a man who believes in miracles and the benefit of the doubt. Megan checked the blind spot, and everyone in the car saw her do it. The officer noted the discrepancy in our stories, and since none of us had any desire to pursue legal action or see our insurance costs rise, and because the officer himself had not seen how it occurred, we all got to go home without any sort of negative legal consequence.
An exciting evening, at any rate.
